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Five Things Friday #129

Woof.

Welcome to post number TWO this week. BAM. My normal four went significantly down after travel and life the past couple weeks. Life is good — scratch that — great, but I’m learning through trial and error that I can’t do everything I want to do at all times with only 24 hours in the day. Who knew??

I talked a little bit about all my different income streams in this post, and right now the corporate fitness accounts I manage are taking up a lot of my time with the start of two simultaneous fitness challenges (what genius scheduled that? 🙂 ). I’ve felt pulled in a hundred directions, which forced me to sit back and take a look at everything that I do in a given day or week or month and what may not fit as I continue to grow in other areas.

I realized that ultimately I love the freedom that comes from working for myself, so my end goal is to find a way to do that amidst everything I do. Right now I’m about half and half, but after March I can say that I will only have one job left where I don’t have full control.

At the end of this month I will no longer be coaching at SWEAT. It’s a little bittersweet since it was the first job that I got upon moving to Chicago and I’ve had a lot of wonderful opportunities from it. With where life is now, however, I’ve been given other wonderful opportunities that have evolved as I have. I’ll miss teaching the community, but I won’t miss waking up at 4 am 😉

Now that I have rambled on about life, I’m coming in hot with my favorites from this week (not surprisingly all food-related).

1. Honey Mama’s Chocolate

I don’t even know if words can describe how much I love this chocolate. I had seen it on social media (of course), but the company is based out of Portland and we didn’t have it here in Chicago.

When I went to LA last week, I stumbled across some in a store and immediately bought these two bars with my brother-in-law who is also my dessert-eating-partner. We bought some other brands of chocolate for him to try and then had a taste test later that night. Everyone LOVED this chocolate and I would have bought a ton to bring home except that it melts at temperatures over 75 degrees, so it’s mainly kept in the refrigerator.

I also rarely buy food online, but today I ordered 4 bars for almost $40 like a crazy person. It’s that good.

2. Siggi’s 9%

I’m already a big Siggi’s fan, but now that they’ve come out with a creamier 9% recipe, I’d have to say I love it even more. I’ll be honest and say that I’ve only tried the vanilla so far, but it’s AMAZING. I bought all the flavors they had because FOOD.

3. Clean Sweets by Arman Liew

My friend Arman’s cookbook JUST came out this week and my preordered copy came in the mail. I absolutely love watching my blogging friends grow and embrace awesome new opportunities like this, so I wanted to share it with you guys if you haven’t ordered it already.

Here is the link on Amazon and it’s not even an affiliate link — I just want to support everyone! Ha.

4. Coco Lite Multigrain Pop Cakes

I’ve been eating more rice cakes since doing my fitness challenge, and when I went to the store with a couple of my friends we came across these — a thinner, larger version of a rice cake. They are made with wheat, rice, and corn flour and come in flavored or unflavored options.

I bought one of both because you can eat a million of these while trying to stay within certain macro values, but they also make a good snack if that’s not something you care about. This is the blueberry cinnamon and it’s pretty good! I literally ate three of them while typing up this post.

5. Ripple Plant-Based Milk

I was searching my brain to find a fifth thing for this week, so I decided to ponder it over a bowl of Purely Elizabeth granola and this Ripple milk. Right before this post. Yes, I’m in a very snacky mood today.

Ugh you guys. I usually pride myself on my knowledge of new products in the healthy living space. I had known about Ripple before, but for some reason assumed it was just another brand of almond milk. I ate my cereal and thought “hmm, that seems creamier than regular almond milk — I dig it.” Then I read the back which states “Ripple starts by hand selecting the highest quality yellow peas…” and I said WHAT?!

This milk is made from peas you guys. PEAS. And it’s so good. I’m so confused but I really like it and for anyone with nut allergies, this is a perfect non-dairy substitute. I feel like I’m going to get even more obsessed with this now.

This weekend there’s no travel and lots of rest on my schedule. Saturday is a day for Neil and I to hang out and then Sunday I have to teach a couple classes in the morning, but that’s about it.

What is so funny is that the reminder “on this day” pic of your first class at SWEAT (that Neil and I took) 2 years ago came up the other day on my Facebook! You’ve gotten a lot from SWEAT, and it is awesome that you are doing so well with the corporate fitness stuff and your other pursuits.
Those rice crisp things were HUGE in NYC when I lived there. Maybe the same company. Pile them high with all the spreads!Susie @ Suzlyfe recently posted…Wicked Awesome Healthy Baked Kale Falafel (Vegan, Gluten Free)

I love Ripple milk!! The Target near me sells it and I was so excited about it. Glad that things are keeping you busy and that it seems you are becoming more and more self-sufficient with your own work schedule. Glad you are finding the balance! Those chocolate bars look so good oh my goodness!Heather @ Polyglot Jot recently posted…Foodie Friday: Vegan Breakfast Pizza

Oo I like the look of those pop cakes! I’ve heard such good things about Siggi’s I’m still loyal to Fage, but I should give Siggi’s a chance 😉Carrie this fit chick recently posted…Friday Favorites + Happy St. Patty’s Day!

I’ve seen the Ripple Pea Milk; and it sounds so interesting. I would love to try it. :o) And that Siggi’s Triple Cream is just really looking so good; but I haven’t seen it yet at Safeway!Emily recently posted…WIAW: Eating When You’re Sad Or Emotional

loool, i can’t even get one post out per week these days, so i’m impressed with your two.
i also bought rice cakes yesterday as a snack. i like how you said they were thinner but larger. so essentially they are the same size as normal rice cakes hahaBeverley @ Born to Sweat recently posted…5 Reasons Why I Will Never Compete in a Bikini Competition

I picked up that Ripple milk randomly at the store, and thought it tasted pretty yummy with my cereal. Ugh I love Siggis and am all about that 4% so I’m sure the 9% is heavenly.Lauren recently posted…Baltimore Fitness Biathlon to Support ASA

You are an absolute gem buddy- Thanks for your kind words, but more importantly, your friendship- Meeting you was one of my blogging highlights to date. Second only to the time someone mistook me for Fez from that 70’s Show and gave me a free brown box from Whole Foods 😀